Pages

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Pondering Life...to Choose or Not to Choose

I do my best thinking when I'm staring at water. It can be a pond or lake, but I prefer the ocean. The rhythmic sound of waves crashing to the shore does something deep in my soul.

I was at the beach for a writing week recently. It was one of those wrapped up in a blanket kind of days. Coffee was involved. Perfect combination.
I was deep in thought as I watched the waves roll in over and over. It occurred to me as I sat mesmerized by the repetition, that water doesn't have a choice about its ebb and flow. The sand and seashells are carried along by the whimsey of the current. They certainly can't say, "I want to go this way or that way."

And the beautiful sunrise I can expect on a clear morning...does it have a say in where it rises and sets? Does it determine the length of its days? The clouds can't position themselves to look like cotton candy as the sun is setting in the western sky.
All of it was created, and is controlled, by a holy God. He spoke and it appeared.

Staring at the ocean reminds me of the vastness of God and the smallness of me.

As my thoughts continued to wander, I naturally thought about people. We're made in His image, His likeness. Even the angels are curious about us.

It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

1 Peter 1:12 ESV

We can choose how we live, where we live, and who we live with. It's our decision. We don't choose the family we're born into, but after a certain age you can choose to leave.

The most important choice we'll ever make though, is the one to accept or reject Jesus Christ. We were made for Him. He breathed His very breath into Adam and inflated his lungs for the first time. That fact alone ought to signify the intimate relationship He longs to have with us. But, He wants us to choose Him freely, because of our love for Him.

That one choice in our lives controls our destiny, both now, and for all eternity. It's more important than the person you marry, the place you live, the school you attend, the car you drive or the zeroes on your bank account.

Don't stumble through life without making this choice. It won't always be easy. It will rarely be easy, but, it will be worthwhile.

When you go to the beach the next time, let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear what you think when you sit wrapped in a blanket and ponder life.